Central Arkansas Christian Schools (CAC) is a group of three

private schools An independent school is independent in its finances and governance. Also known as private schools, non-governmental, privately funded, or non-state schools, they are not administered by local, state or national governments. In British Eng ...

based in

North Little Rock, Arkansas North Little Rock is a city in Pulaski County, Arkansas, across the Arkansas River, Arkansas from Little Rock, Arkansas, Little Rock in the central part of the state. The population was 64,591 at the 2020 United States Census, 2020 census. In 2 ...

, United States. CAC was established in 1971 at Sylvan Hills Church of Christ in

Sherwood Sherwood may refer to: Places Australia *Sherwood, Queensland, a suburb of Brisbane *Sherwood, South Australia, a locality *Shire of Sherwood, a former local government area of Queensland *Electoral district of Sherwood, an electoral district from ...

, Arkansas. Because of its foundation date, the school has been categorized as a

segregation academy Segregation academies are private schools in the Southern United States that were founded in the mid-20th century by white parents to avoid having their children attend desegregated public schools. They were founded between 1954, when the U.S. ...

although enrollment records indicate black students were enrolled in the school as early as 1974. The Central Arkansas Christian School system includes a combination middle and high school campus in North Little Rock and two elementary schools: a campus in Pleasant Valley/Little Rock and a campus in North Little Rock. Together, they composed the state's fourth-largest combined private school for the 2018-19 school year. The schools are "affiliated" with (but not operated or owned by) the

Churches of Christ The Churches of Christ is a loose association of autonomous Christian congregations based on the ''sola scriptura'' doctrine. Their practices are based on Bible texts and draw on the early Christian church as described in the New Testament. T ...

and are members of the

Council for Advancement and Support of Education The Council for Advancement and Support of Education (CASE) is a nonprofit association of educational institutions. It serves professionals in the field of educational advancement. This field encompasses alumni relations, communications, marketing ...

History

Central Arkansas Christian School opened in 1971. Because of the timing of the school's establishment, it has been categorized as a segregation academy, a term associated with private schools established in response to the court ordered racial integration of public schools. Although categorized as a segregation academy, the "founders of the school repeatedly stated that admission was open to all regardless of race." Additionally, black students were enrolled in the school as early as 1974. The organization bought of adjacent land, for $500,000 in August 2003, to allow further expansion. Notable visitors to the school include

Pat Buchanan Patrick Joseph Buchanan (; born November 2, 1938) is an American paleoconservative political commentator, columnist, politician, and broadcaster. Buchanan was an assistant and special consultant to U.S. Presidents Richard Nixon, Gerald Ford, an ...

, who spoke to the high school students in 1999.

Academics

Central Arkansas Christian School is fully accredited by AdvancED and the Arkansas Non-public Schools Accrediting Association. CAC is also a member of the

National Christian School Association National may refer to: Common uses * Nation or country ** Nationality – a ''national'' is a person who is subject to a nation, regardless of whether the person has full rights as a citizen Places in the United States * National, Maryland, c ...

and

The College Board The College Board is an American nonprofit organization that was formed in December 1899 as the College Entrance Examination Board (CEEB) to expand access to higher education. While the College Board is not an association of colleges, it runs a ...

Extracurricular activities

The Central Arkansas Christian High School mascot and athletic emblem is the ''

Mustang The mustang is a free-roaming horse of the Western United States, descended from horses brought to the Americas by the Spanish. Mustangs are often referred to as wild horses, but because they are descended from once-domesticated animals, they ...

'' with purple and gold serving as the school colors.

Athletics

The CAC Mustangs participate in the 4A Classification within the 4A 2 Conference as administered by the

Arkansas Activities Association The Arkansas Activities Association (AAA) is the primary sanctioning body for high school sports in state of Arkansas. AAA is a member association of the National Federation of State High School Associations (NFSHSA). Every public secondary sch ...

. The Mustangs compete in

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kicking a ball to score a goal. Unqualified, the word ''football'' normally means the form of football that is the most popular where the word is used. Sports commonly c ...

, volleyball, golf (boys/girls), cross country (boys/girls), basketball (boys/girls), soccer (boys/girls), cheer, swimming and driving (boys/girls), tennis (boys/girls), baseball, fastpitch softball, wrestling, track and field (boys/girls), and bowling (boys/girls). Central Arkansas Christian High School has won many state championships including: * Football: 2004. * Golf: 1994, 1997, 2005, 2012 (boys); 2015 (girls) * Basketball: 2005, 2006, 2007, 2018 (girls) * Baseball: 1990, 1994, 1995, 2000, 2004, 2009 * Tennis: 1982, 1998, 2005, 2010 (boys) * Soccer: 2006–08, 2012–13, 2016–19 (girls); 2008, 2015, 2019 (boys) * Softball: 2006 (AAA) * Wrestling: 2008 CAC became the first private school in Arkansas to add

wrestling Wrestling is a series of combat sports involving grappling-type techniques such as clinch fighting, throws and takedowns, joint locks, pins and other grappling holds. Wrestling techniques have been incorporated into martial arts, combat ...

to their program. The wrestling team won the 2008 Arkansas Wrestling Association championship, in the 1A-4A classification.

Notable alumni

A. J. Burnett Allan James Burnett (born January 3, 1977), is an American former professional baseball starting pitcher, who played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Florida Marlins, Toronto Blue Jays, New York Yankees, Pittsburgh Pirates, and Philadelphia ...

(1995)—Athlete; Major League Baseball (MLB) professional pitcher. *

Jennifer Sherrill Miss Arkansas USA, previously known as Miss Arkansas Universe, is the beauty pageant that selects the representative for the state of Arkansas in the Miss USA pageant, and the name of the title held by that winner. The pageant is directed by Va ...

(2002)—Miss Arkansas USA 2004. * D. J. Williams (2007)—Athlete; NFL professional football player. * Joe Adams (2008)—Athlete; NFL professional football player. *

Christyn Williams Christyn Williams (born May 20, 2000) is an American women's basketball player. She was drafted by the Washington Mystics. She played college basketball at the University of Connecticut (UConn). She played in high school for Central Arkansas Ch ...

(2018)—Athlete; 2018 Gatorade National Player of the Year, University of Connecticut women's basketball player
Steven McRoberts
(1988)—Missouri State Volleyball Coach
Rob Pickens (2014)
—Wigmaster

References

External links

* {{Authority control Segregation academies in Arkansas 1971 establishments in Arkansas Christian schools in Arkansas Churches of Christ Educational institutions established in 1971 Private K-12 schools in Arkansas Schools in Pulaski County, Arkansas High schools in North Little Rock, Arkansas